Wtf is going on with car insurance prices?

[EyesWeldedShut]

Spotted this in my policy/schedule

Manufacturers options that change the maker's standard specification? That's woolly.

Where would you start on a car that's created using one of the online creator sites - say a fancy Bini?

[SRi05]

Renewal for my Saab came in during the week, it's much the same as it was last year, 300 odd something.

My CRV though, DA FUQ. It's almost fucking doubled ! I can't get a quote under £700 on the comparison sites. Absolutely fuck all has changed apart from an extra year of no claims.

Going to have to try some of the insurers not on them directly and hope for the best.

[Marina door handles]

23 minutes ago, EyesWeldedShut said:

Spotted this in my policy/schedule

Manufacturers options that change the maker's standard specification? That's woolly.

Where would you start on a car that's created using one of the online creator sites - say a fancy Bini?

That's definitely one for the Ombudsman, love to see that stand up in court especially with a second hand purchase were you really cannot be expected to know for definite what was standard and what was an option.....

[Marina door handles]

Interesting yet terrifying example of steep insurance, we have a youngish mechanic at work who is about 21 he currently drives a newish BMW  and pays.....

 

 

 

 

 

 

.... £700 a month in insurance! Utter madness, we have tried to explain that he really needs to change his car (and stop crashing!) as that is a spectacular waste of money. I mean when an insurance company quotes £8k for a yearly policy they are really telling you to Foxtrot Oscar! 

[beko1987]

My friends daughter got essentially given a 65 plate volvo v40 2l turbo derv the other week. Me and him spent a good few hours last week worrying she'd not be able to get insured on it. Under 20, at uni, an years driving record. 

The quote came back, same details as her current shagged out 1l corsa, just a different vehicle and... £900 for the year. I almost thought it a tad pricy but not beyond the realms of reality when my mate said its only about £130 more a year than the corsa 😂

I remember my learner policy on my 2.0hdi 206 at £400ish a year turning into over £1500 when I passed. Had 5/6 painful months of massive payments before it ended and I could get a more reasonable quote. Sadly I thought those days were over

[Metal Guru]

48 minutes ago, beko1987 said:

My friends daughter got essentially given a 65 plate volvo v40 2l turbo derv the other week. Me and him spent a good few hours last week worrying she'd not be able to get insured on it. Under 20, at uni, an years driving record. 

The quote came back, same details as her current shagged out 1l corsa, just a different vehicle and... £900 for the year. I almost thought it a tad pricy but not beyond the realms of reality when my mate said its only about £130 more a year than the corsa 😂

I remember my learner policy on my 2.0hdi 206 at £400ish a year turning into over £1500 when I passed. Had 5/6 painful months of massive payments before it ended and I could get a more reasonable quote. Sadly I thought those days were over

I paid £440 to insure my first car a 1.1L Fiesta in the early 80s. I was 21 but had been driving for 3 years but in my Dad’s car on a company car policy, so no insurance record of my own.

That equates to £1500 with inflation, so I don’t think kids are being treated any worse than any previous generation.

[rattlecan]

My first car insurance was in 82 for a mk2 1300 Escort. About £85 if my memory serves me right, however it was that thing wher you put ya Mum on it as the main user, which they later sort of stopped excepting. Used to bring home around £150 a week, so the tables have turned a bit I’d guess, in terms of value. Bit difficult to gauge I guess 

[Flat4]

4 hours ago, EyesWeldedShut said:

Spotted this in my policy/schedule

Manufacturers options that change the maker's standard specification? That's woolly.

Where would you start on a car that's created using one of the online creator sites - say a fancy Bini?

Who's that with, if you don't mind?

On 04/02/2024 at 13:27, willswitchengage said:

🤔

That 15 year no claims bonus really working its magic.

How is it looking on comparison sites?

[EyesWeldedShut]

18 minutes ago, Flat4 said:

Who's that with, if you don't mind?

AXA in disguise as Moja.
Car it is on just so happens to be 100% factory standard - not even a tow bar - so should* be just fine and dandy......

[willswitchengage]

1 hour ago, Flat4 said:

Who's that with, if you don't mind?

How is it looking on comparison sites?

Haven't looked yet but I believe it's because they have my car details wrong as it lists a 'Volkswagen 900'.

I use Hastings Premier which is good as it gives no-quibbles free breakdown - trying to get cover on old cars I've found quite difficult.

[Matty]

All 3 done now. 160 foe the Austin,  280 for the ST, 340 for the Z4. All in I'm spending 60 quid more than last year. I'm 43.

[Flat4]

3 hours ago, EyesWeldedShut said:

AXA in disguise as Moja.
Car it is on just so happens to be 100% factory standard - not even a tow bar - so should* be just fine and dandy......

Glad I didn't take out their policy after all now! Cheap for a reason?

[EyesWeldedShut]

2 hours ago, Flat4 said:

Glad I didn't take out their policy after all now! Cheap for a reason?

I guess I'd not know until I claimed? Like I said the car is bog standard. My other policies/schedules have nothing on them like that - first time I've seen anything like it tbh

[Mrcento]

12 hours ago, EyesWeldedShut said:

Spotted this in my policy/schedule

Manufacturers options that change the maker's standard specification? That's woolly.

Where would you start on a car that's created using one of the online creator sites - say a fancy Bini?

The manufacturers options things isn't going to be enforceable. Standard spec often changes even on trim levels over a model run.

What are they now trying to say?, Alloy wheel design option 2, 5 spoke, is now no longer considered OEM because the 6 spoke option 1 was the standard fit?, Even though option 2 was standard on the same model on another trim level or in another month on that one?,

How can it not be considered OEM when it was offered, supplied and fitted by the manufacturer and could be driven out a dealership like that?

Standard is, and always will be as the manufacturer sold it in looks, performance and functionality'.

[Metal Guru]

10 hours ago, Mrcento said:

The manufacturers options things isn't going to be enforceable. Standard spec often changes even on trim levels over a model run.

What are they now trying to say?, Alloy wheel design option 2, 5 spoke, is now no longer considered OEM because the 6 spoke option 1 was the standard fit?, Even though option 2 was standard on the same model on another trim level or in another month on that one?,

How can it not be considered OEM when it was offered, supplied and fitted by the manufacturer and could be driven out a dealership like that?

Standard is, and always will be as the manufacturer sold it in looks, performance and functionality'.

So if your car came from the factory with Michelin tyres and you replaced them with Dunlops, that’s voided your insurance? It’s nonsense.

Some tried to do it with winter tyres a while ago, saying you had to inform them ( possibly incurring an increase for a modification, definitely incurring an admin charge), but the ombudsman told them they were talking bollocks so it wasn’t something you had to tell them.

[sierraman]

You’d think their legal team would be doing due diligence to ensure any clauses included in the underwriting were actually enforceable. If not they want sacking. 

[coachie]

On 26/01/2024 at 11:50, Rust Collector said:

I'm worried I'm going to be put in the barrel and scuttled silly come renewal time in March, as my at fault claim on the Insight was for a fair amount.

Admiral are the only company that offer multicar policies that meet my needs, so I'm not left with much choice going forwards other than to cull the amount of cars we run if the cost jumps too much. I'm definitely not going back to juggling 5 or 6 different policies with different companies, and trade insurance is about 2 to 3 times as much as I used to pay and I don't have the spare time/money to go back to buying and selling stuff.

I should be getting the renewal invitation in the next couple of weeks, so I guess I'll find out then what my future holds.

I don't want to get your hopes up too much, but our family Admiral multicar policy went down this renewal ( Dec 2023)

I know everyone is different, but we have two quite lumpy claims in there over the last 4 years as well.

[Mrcento]

9 hours ago, sierraman said:

You’d think their legal team would be doing due diligence to ensure any clauses included in the underwriting were actually enforceable. If not they want sacking. 

They are throwing shit at the wall and seeing what clauses stick with the ombudsman when somebody that falls foul of one of them challenges them on it.

It's not even just clauses within the policies that they're taking the absolute piss, it's the questions they're starting to ask on quotes. The exact day you passed your test etc, Mate, i've had a license for 17 years, 18 in August, by all means, ask the month, but does it really made a difference if i passed my test on the 17th or 18th of the month?, What next, the exact fucking time of your test so they can skim an extra £20 a year off you if you didn't pass it during a rush hour slot?

They're about 3 months away from demanding to know how many sexual partners you'd had in life.

Whole industry is wildly overreaching with data and totally out of control.

[High Jetter]

Renewal for the ZTT with Esure came in 75% more than last year. Comparison sites best offering is 35 - 40% increase with...yup, Esure. 

[JJ0063]

On 10/02/2024 at 20:21, Mrcento said:

it's the questions they're starting to ask on quotes. The exact day you passed your test etc, Mate, i've had a license for 17 years, 18 in August, by all means, ask the month, but does it really made a difference if i passed my test on the 17th or 18th of the month?,

The biggest issue is that people lie. It’s very easy to blame the insurers for asking unnecessary questions but the reason things are getting tighter is because people seem to find it so hard to be honest.

I don’t always defend the industry as it’s a fucking nightmare at times but the question set part of it I will, because I get sick to death of catching people out every single day. Only yesterday I had someone say they’d had their license ‘About 12 years’ - checked and they passed 7 years ago. 

Another one yesterday, trying to buy insurance with the occupation as a company director yet had done 14 online quotes the day before as unemployed, as a librarian, accountant, school teacher etc…

 

[Mrcento]

9 hours ago, JJ0063 said:

The biggest issue is that people lie. It’s very easy to blame the insurers for asking unnecessary questions but the reason things are getting tighter is because people seem to find it so hard to be honest.

I don’t always defend the industry as it’s a fucking nightmare at times but the question set part of it I will, because I get sick to death of catching people out every single day. Only yesterday I had someone say they’d had their license ‘About 12 years’ - checked and they passed 7 years ago. 

Another one yesterday, trying to buy insurance with the occupation as a company director yet had done 14 online quotes the day before as unemployed, as a librarian, accountant, school teacher etc…

 

I get that, but on the exact date of passing a test for example, can't agree. Might make sense for somebody that has only passed a few years ago etc, but If someone was going to lie about that, they'd lie about the year (or be a bit cheeky with the month to make 14 into 15 etc), But the exact date for somebody that has 15 years + is just taking the piss. Especially given i'm happy to supply my license number (which IMO is one thing i thing should be a requirement), where they can easily check all that up at the same time they can see if someone is telling the truth RE there's no points, bans etc.

As for the employment side, yeah 😂 I mean, they 'could' just have been seeing how it affected the quote, but i doubt a real 'company director' would care. Caught 😂

[Metal Guru]

3 hours ago, Mrcento said:

I get that, but on the exact date of passing a test for example, can't agree. Might make sense for somebody that has only passed a few years ago etc, but If someone was going to lie about that, they'd lie about the year (or be a bit cheeky with the month to make 14 into 15 etc), But the exact date for somebody that has 15 years + is just taking the piss. Especially given i'm happy to supply my license number (which IMO is one thing i thing should be a requirement), where they can easily check all that up at the same time they can see if someone is telling the truth RE there's no points, bans etc.

As for the employment side, yeah 😂 I mean, they 'could' just have been seeing how it affected the quote, but i doubt a real 'company director' would care. Caught 😂

I’ve never been asked for the exact date I passed my test, normally just how many years , often 25+ or even just 9+.

[Spurious]

Went from £424 last year to £690 this year.

Esure is still the cheapest, 3 years running. But I had to open a new policy to get this price; the renewal price was £780. 

I thought they weren't allowed to do this on renewal. 

Fucking joke. There's bound to be an element of profiteering here. I accept there's been inflation, increased parts and scamming but it's going to be like the energy crises, they'll be making money on this. 

 

 

[Mrcento]

1 hour ago, Metal Guru said:

I’ve never been asked for the exact date I passed my test, normally just how many years , often 25+ or even just 9+.

Was the same for me until fairly recently (Some places are still just the year, some want the month as well, which is understandable given the window there could be if getting a quote in January and someone passed in a December, could effectively 'steal' 11 months experience on paper), but it's definitely starting to become common they want exact pass dates for quotes.

[eddyramrod]

To answer @Flat4's original question: unregulated profiteering.  Same as everything else.

[Anthony]

On 10/02/2024 at 14:25, coachie said:

I don't want to get your hopes up too much, but our family Admiral multicar policy went down this renewal ( Dec 2023)

I know everyone is different, but we have two quite lumpy claims in there over the last 4 years as well.

Sadly wasn't the case for me - our Admiral multicar renewal was up 57% compared to last year, despite no changes (i.e. no claims, convictions etc and same vehicles).

In previous years, I've always been able to get them to match or beat any lower quotes with a phone call, but no dice this year, although they came down quite a bit to be fair.

What was perhaps more interesting is how for mine and my partners cars the premium increases were vastly different - I ended up renewing my aged Pug 306 for pretty much the same cost as last year, whereas my partners modern-ish BMW ended up being about 40% higher than last year.

Other thing I noticed while getting quotes on the comparison sites was how many policies, particularly at the cheaper end of the spectrum, had cut back numerous elements of the policy that you would have expected to be standard on a fully comp policy - things like no windscreen cover (or very low claim limits way below the cost of a replacement screen in most vaguely modern cars) and European cover that is TP only or excludes named drivers.  Obviously for some people those things wouldn't be an issue, but I imagine there's some out there who perhaps weren't diligent enough when comparing policies who are potentially going to get a nasty shock if they need to claim...

16 hours ago, Mrcento said:

Was the same for me until fairly recently (Some places are still just the year, some want the month as well, which is understandable given the window there could be if getting a quote in January and someone passed in a December, could effectively 'steal' 11 months experience on paper), but it's definitely starting to become common they want exact pass dates for quotes.

When I took out the policy for my car, the dates had auto-populated incorrectly from the data supplied by the comparison site - only a few months out, but obviously I corrected it before taking out the policy.  What I found surprising is that despite passing my driving test over 25 years ago (back in the 90's), correcting the dates and in effect showing that I'd had my licence a few more months dropped the premium by nearly 5% - that seemed bizarre to me as logically a few months here or there is negligible when you've had a licence that long.

[FakeConcern]

This is a strange one, not sure it explains the recent rises is Direct Line prices, but still...

Background youngest daughter's Clio got written off in 2018, all was settled and she was happy with her pay out.

The other day she got this letter...

I really don't understand what's going on with this as the valuation was fine and anyway, why would they re check the value after the payout?

Nevr mind she won't say no to an unexpected £220!

If you're interested this is all the detail on original incident

https://autoshite.com/topic/33802-will-clio-be-write-off-hidden-agenda/

[beko1987]

That's very odd... Wonder how many of those their re-calculating! Wonder why their having to re calculate things at all... Some quick "oh fuck get EVERYTHING in order" happening in finance hq? 🤔

[Mad Cyril]

My renewal came through at a 50% increase.
I spent an evening on comparison sites and confirmed that the renewal was very close to the cheapest price (which was with a company I've never heard of).
I called to accept the renewal providing they could move a little bit on the price (a fiver would have done for me).
They lopped a decent chunk off so I've finished up with a 21% increase on last year (which is about £30). I can cope with that.
 

[Rust Collector]

After my full contact commuting incident, it would appear that my future RE insurance isn't looking spectacular.

Annoyingly, Admiral (my current insurer) haven't sent me a renewal quote yet, despite my renewal being 11/03/24. Last year, they sent it a month in advance. My cynical side feels like they're stalling so that I miss the window to get cheaper quotes elsewhere, or they potentially don't want to offer cover going forwards.

I've spent this evening getting a few quotes, and both the Land Rover and the Lexus are over a grand each. I've not looked at costs for my mrs, hopefully they're not so severe. The Lada is coming in at £350, up from about £250, so I should probably finish working on that and use it as my commuter for a bit. I'll have to take a view on the other cars if Admiral end up being a no-go for renewal.